End of the Week Links

I didn't have as much web-perusing time this week, but I did come across some dandy things. Here are a few...

You really need to check out this website. I am in love with so many of the items there (a few pictured above). I was lucky to find them through this great blog via Knack. (Gotta love what blog-hopping will lead you to!)

This photo is so cute and made me giggle. Lots of great baby related goodies as well if you follow that link.

Don't miss out on a whole week of giveaways over at SimpleMom. There are books, products, handmade goodies and more! She's drawing winners this weekend, so be sure to visit today.

I fell in love with this skirt, made from a vintage teatowel. 

How about this great eco-friendly, responsible packaging solution I saw over at Unclutter. Makes calling out for pizza delivery all the more alluring.

And one of the thoughts that got to me this week was this one, along with this photo {via here}:

Have a wonderful weekend!

Seeing Red!

I'm not the most colorful gal when it comes to home decor, but when I moved into my house 9.5 years ago I just had to paint the kitchen walls red. Bright red. I've never been completely sold on my decision, but the amount of time it took to paint it, including the many trips back and forth to the paint store to tweak the color and the multitude of coats it took to thoroughly cover the walls, have made me choose to live with my bold decision. Well, I think I found the look I was going for when I first envisioned a red kitchen. Take a look at this beauty:

I think I could live with this red kitchen. What about you?

{Read more about this great kitchen here.}

Spending Hiatus: It's the Little Things

My husband will admit that he's the big spender in the family... He likes nice things and will spend the bucks for good quality items when he comes across a deal. He contends though that it's not these purchases that strain our budget. He has a saying that I "nickel and dime us" with my great buys here and there. After some self reflection and hands-on research, I've come to the conclusion that there just might be a bit of truth to his statement. 

It's not the new bicycles (his vice) or furniture or surround-sound systems that we're having trouble passing by. It's the little things, like magazines and toys and home decor items that are putting me to the test. I can't count how many times I've wanted to grab a $2 ice coffee or a clearance t-shirt (darn that Target red tag) because of it's tiny price tag. They seem so inconsequential in the grand scheme of things, but they add up. I wish I'd been keeping tally as to how much money I was "saving" us by passing on these whims. I think that little nugget of info would most definitely help me stick with this spending trend in the long run.

What do you think? What are your hardest tests when it comes to spending/saving money?

Organizing Recipes (and a late meal plan thrown in)

What's your technique? I've been using a three ring binder, with clear sleeves to hold all of my recipes. I either slip in my magazine clipping, print-out or recipe card into the see through pocket. The pages are then ordered as to what type they are: appetizer, side, main course, etc. 

This works quite well, except for the fact that I've gotten a bit behind...Here's my drawer full of recipes that are in need of filing away. 

I'm going to try and ride the whole spring cleaning urge and remedy this. I'm going to neatly trim the recipes I ripped from magazines and rewrite the ones I've jotted down on whatever scrap of paper that was nearby onto recipe cards. I made up these cards to help inspire me to follow through. 

I'll probably just print out the black and white fronts for my recipe binder, but I'm thinking they'd make a cute little gift, so I went ahead and made colorful backs to finish them out. Just click the links to download them if you'd like a set too. (recipe card front and back)

Oh, and here's our meal plan for the week (a day late). When planning last week, I didn't account for our Memorial Day festivities, so we've got some roll over.

Tuesday:

leftover hotdogs and hamburgers from family cookout

Wednesday/Thursday:

steaks & zucchini grilled out

Friday:

pizza

Saturday/Sunday:

enchiladas (and I'm thinking margaritas!)

How do you keep all of your recipes organized?

Meal Planning Monday??

{image via whimsicalities via nicolew}

Considering the fact that I thought it was Saturday up until just recently, I have not even begun to think about what I'll be cooking for my family this coming week. We have had such a nice weekend full of family, friends and food, that I haven't sat down to give any forethought to our weekly meal plan. I'll be doing that today, (okay, tonight) and I'm sure I'll be checking out some favorite sites (here, here and here) for inspiration. Any ideas? More importantly, how was your holiday weekend?

Friday Faves or maybe now, End of the Week Links??

This art is so happy and I'm just in love with it. Check out more at Our Little Love Nest's store and blog. I could see it working in the kitchen, a nursery, the family room, or just about anywhere you'd like to add a bit of cheer.

Try this ransom note generator site. I just rediscovered it and had to play around with it for a bit.

I love this dress that I first saw on The Cheap Chica. 

And darn it if I didn't come across another one of those vintage look gym locker baskets that I've been eying. This one is on sale for $19.99 at Urban Outfitters and since I'm on spending hiatus, I figured one of you should snatch it up. I'd like a set of these guys in my workspace, as well as in my pantry.

Last week was National Children's Book Week. No Time For Flashcards compiled a list of readers' favorite kids' books. I was so excited to see some of our favorites on there, but even more so to find some new ones to go check out!

This post made me cry... It completely touched my heart.

Oh, and these images {Both from whimsicalities via here and here} are perfect for any day, but they are especially so for me because there's a girls' night planned for this evening (aaahhh!):

Have a wonderful weekend!

Dreaming of... Creative Spaces

I have this habit of bookmarking/saving/dog-earing/tearing out my dream rooms for future reference. I have files stuffed with kitchens, mudrooms, living rooms and my latest obsession, workspaces. I've talked about the workspace that the hubby and I recently created from one of our closets. Even in its unfinished state, the fact that it is my dedicated space makes me feel ultra creative. I can only imagine how I'd feel in one of these spaces:

{images via here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7}

Spending Hiatus? What Spending Hiatus?

Seriously, spending hiatus, shmending hiatus! It's not been very tough at all, and I really can't take any of the credit for the ease that we've experienced thus far. Sure we've cut back, stopped shopping, made a few sacrifices, but it's nothing compared to what's been given to us. The amount of generosity that has been showered upon us since hubby lost his job has been nothing short of mind blowing. Case and point:

• We have incredible support coming from loved ones who check in on us, continuing to send love/prayers/good vibes/positive thoughts our way. It hasn't let up in the least. And then there's the occasional sweet surprise, just because. We are crazy blessed.

• Family and friends have taken it upon themselves to literally feed us (quite well, I should add)... Both sides of our family have graciously invited us over and/or out for countless dinners. We've had good friends and new friends open their homes to us for meals and wine and fun. This not only entertains us and helps lessen our bills, it makes life so sweet. 
  

• We've been the grateful recipients of clothes for our kids. I'm serious when I say that my little ones are sporting some nicer duds than I probably would have sprung for because of our stylishly, big-hearted friends' hand-me-downs.
  

• And then there's the fact that I happen to be having a heck of a lucky streak, winning blog giveaways all over town. There are so many generously talented folks taking the edge off of this cruddy economic state. I hesitate to share this as to jinx my run, but I've got well adorned wrists (right and left), a very pretty finger and a full coffee mug. (I'm not even kidding!)

So I'm going to wrap myself up in the love and generosity that is being thrown our way, and I'm going to be throwing it right back out. When practicality sneaks in and tries to dampen my giving spirit, I'm going to squish it. This little nugget just might be in the running for my 2010 motto... Definitely something to strive for:

I'm in debt and I'm going to do my best to repay and pay it forward. Not a single person in my life expects anything in return, which makes it all the sweeter to pay it back. I am so grateful.

And the winners are...

First off, thank you for reading my little blog and to everyone who entered my giveaway. And a big thanks for your very kind words of encouragement! I really appreciate you!

I planned on doing the nifty little random number generator to choose the winners of my giveaway, but there was a certain 6 year old who was quite insistent about being involved. After explaining that a drawing of names is not really drawing at all, we wrote out the names, cut them, and folded them all to prepare for our official "drawing" of winners. My daughter was so very excited:

She used her newly acquired reading skills:

And revealed that the winner of the set of personalized notecards is:

And the gift certificate goes to:

My sweet daughter just couldn't stop drawing so we'll be sending an extra little something to:

So Littlebyrd, Blair, and dmoms I will be getting in contact with you to arrange for you to get your cards. And just in case you'd like to see what happened soon after the official drawing of winners... My little guy was done being patient and conducted his own little drawing:

I promise everything was on the up and up before the toddler got involved!

Have a happy Tuesday!

Meal Planning Monday

{image from here}

It's starting to feel more consistently like summer around here, and my normal meal ideas are feeling a bit tired (and hot). The soups that we love are definitely on the way out of the rotation, as we had to turn on the ac and crank the ceiling fan in order to enjoy our tortilla soup last week. We're going to be using the oven less and grilling out more, and I'm going to be on the hunt for some new, summery fares. What are your favorite warm weather recipes that you enjoy during the summer months? 

Here's our plan for this week:

Monday: 

leftovers 

(We have a variety, so it will be to each his own. Love these nights because everyone ends up happy with their individual meal and the frig gets cleaned out)

Tuesday: 

B for D

breakfast casserole

fruit salad

Wednesday/Thursday:

chicken skewers

carrots

rice

Friday/Saturday:

steak

brussel sprouts (If I hadn't tried them, I wouldn't have believed I liked them. This recipe is yum-my... Promise!)

grilled caesar salad

Sunday:

Family dinner

What's on your menu for the week?

(Don't forget to enter the giveaway... I'll announce a winner tomorrow morning!)

Friday Favorites

These Rock Blox sets include framed words that arrange together make up a quote. I just love the look and idea behind it. This one is my favorite with the lyrics from the great Elton John showcased. The shop also has 8x8 prints as well.

I'm not sure when this was originally posted up at RealSimple, but I just found it. I love these simple, inexpensive ideas for centerpieces. They are so easy that they don't have to wait for a special occasion to set up. 

I've had this great T-shirt saved in my favorites for a while now with my little guy in mind. The back says, "I roll on 12's"... My husband rolls on 29's, so this makes me smile.

I found this little gem saved in my "wants" bookmark... I don't recall bookmarking this coffee table, but I totally still want it. I'll be searching around for something exactly like it to eventually replace my ikea number, but for a slightly smaller price tag. It's just so cool.

Check out these hair pins that I found via City Sage's birthday week giveaway. I need them something awful.

The Art Garage Sale giveaway that is going on over at ScoutieGirl right now is pretty darned awesome. Very neat place, and what better time to get acquainted than during this fabulous opportunity to own a boat load of neat stuff from some talented folks.

I'll leave you with this photo and this thought that seem to go along quite well with my week:

If you haven't entered my giveaway, be sure to check yesterday's post.

Have a wonderful weekend!

My 100th Post and A Giveaway! Yay!

It's my 100th post today! I honestly can't believe that 1: I'm a blogger, and 2: I'm up to 100 posts. While I've enjoyed reading blogs for a while, I never thought I'd start one of my own. No one that knows me in "real life" would have predicted it either. I was the lurker reader... I never even made a comment on another blog until well after I started mine. Doing so was just way outside my comfort zone. 

Well, I did timidly start a blog, just periodically posting about my little biz. Then the new year rolled around and I made this resolution to myself: In 2009 I will make efforts to step outside of my comfort zone. Well, I'm officially on the outside of it and it feels quite nice. This little blog has taken on a life that I didn't envision, and I'm really enjoying it.  I am so refreshed by the kind, supportive people I've gotten to interact with. (That's you!) And I'm completely overwhelmed by the amount of creativity going on. Thank you so much for hanging out with me for a bit and for the happy place that you've helped me create. 

To say thanks, I'm hosting my very own giveaway! There are two possible gifts from my new etsy shop that you can win:

A set of 25 of these personalized folding notecards:

And a $15 PS~gift certificate to use in my shop: 

Since there are two gifts, here are two chances to win:

1. Simply leave me a comment. I'd love for you to share your favorite item from my new shop (I added a few new items), pass along an etsy tip, or really anything will work. (I absolutely love hearing your thoughts!)

2. Become a follower (because this makes me so very happy) and let me know in your comment. If you already are one (thanks!), I'll be sure that you are entered twice as well.

I'll announce the winner on Tuesday, May 19th. Thanks so much for reading my blog! Have a wonderful Thursday!

Spending Hiatus: Some Inspiration

Now if I could only keep this in mind all the time I'd be golden. A friend of mine shared this quote with me (Thanks Molly!), and I loved it so much that I made this pretty, little version to hang up on my bulletin board. Download it here if you would like one as well. (2 will print out on an 8.5 x 11 inch page, so you can pass one along to a friend as well.) 

Font Heaven

I've already fessed up to you about my little font addiction, and it seems many of you share in this affliction with me. Well, if that is the case, you need to go check out what I am calling my font heaven. Kevin and Amanda's site has a variety of neat things to offer... recipes, decorating, scrapbooking, and lots and lots of cool fonts (including my new favorite one I'm using in my blog titles). Amanda has an amazing talent of turning handwriting into fonts and is freely sharing them with the rest of us. I think I love her.

Meal Planning Monday: The Goal

I had a friend call me and say that she felt bad after reading this meal planning post each week... She lamented about how she should be doing this too. It made me so sad, because that is the last thing I want someone to feel after checking in over here. What I told her is that this is just my goal for the week. This is what I hope to accomplish. I'm sharing my weekly plan for a couple of reasons: 

One is to hold myself accountable by putting it in writing... Some weeks I do really well and others don't quite measure up. I'd say I'm averaging about a B+, and I'm good with that. The second reason is that by sharing my plan I hope it might make someone else's planning a little easier. I mean, heck, I collect most of my meal ideas from friends/online/mom/mom-in-law/etc. So, with all that being said, I really, really hope that you never come away from this here spot with any ill feelings about what you're doing. We all just do the best we can and for that, we should give ourselves a big ole A+.

As for our plan this week... It might look somewhat familiar to you because we didn't get around to all of our meals last week. We had some unexpected things pop up and then it was just too hot to eat the tortilla soup on one of the scheduled days. Since I just transferred over some days from last week to this week, planning was much quicker this time. Here's what's on our menu:

Monday:

tortilla soup

Tuesday/Wednesday:

manicotti

broccoli (I hope it's still fresh!)

Thursday/Friday:

grilled chicken

angel hair pasta with pesto

salad

Saturday:

dinner with friends

Sunday:

egg and spinach frittata

What's on the menu at your home? 

And it's so okay if there's nothing on it as of yet!

Oh, and I just noticed that I'm getting close to my 100th post... 

With the new shop open, I'm thinking of having my very own giveaway! 

Stay tuned... I think Thursday's the day, but I need to double check my numbers.

 So exciting!

{image from here}

Special Weekend Mother's Day Edition

I usually don't post on the weekend, but I had the rare opportunity to do whatever I wanted today... After returning from lunch with my mom and sister (such a nice time), my sweet husband loaded the kids up and gave me alone time at the house. It was a perfect Mother's Day present, as I really can't remember the last time I've been in my house by myself. It felt strange, but oh-so-nice! 

I did a little of this and a bit of that before I settled in front of the computer. It was inevitable that I'd end up fiddling around with my blog layout for at least a little while. (It's becoming an obsession of sorts... How about these fun new font titles?! More to come on that later this week!)  The stillness was exhilarating and sparked my creativity! I worked on some card designs that had been swimming around in my head for a while. That got me thinking...

...about my little 4 year old card business that I've been badly neglecting for a while. I've been mainly working on custom orders as they come to me, but doing nothing to grow it. It's been my dream/goal to find my niche in the market, but I just keep putting off moving forward. 

I suppose I've been waiting to roll out a great new line, or unveil my wedding invitations (that are still residing in my head), or something so spectacular that I'd have a hard time keeping up with orders. As I sat there in my quiet house, I got a surge of energy/confidence/go-get-em-attitude and decided now was the time to stop waiting. I headed over to etsy and hung an open sign on my store front. I just started adding cards. I stopped to take pictures and added some more. I was on a roll! Then the family came back. I was overcome with "mamas" and "guess what we dids", so I happily closed up shop. 

I managed to list 10 items and while I'm not 100% happy with the way things look over there, I'm proud of myself for jumping in. Now that I've started though, I've got a ton of learning to do and questions to figure out. I'm so very open to any suggestions, etsy tips, and/or guidance you might have to offer me. I'm going to do my best to keep things up over there, even though I'm fairly confident that I won't have a quiet house again any time soon. Aaaahhhh... But it was so nice while it lasted! I think I'm going to ask for this type of treat every Mother's Day weekend!

How did you spend this Mother's Day?

Friday Favorites

Have a peak at some of the people, places and things I found around the web this week: 

This amazing little cottage was converted from an old schoolhouse. I'm in love with their kitchen and all the pops of green. Go on a tour here.

Here are some super cute wedges for only $19.99!

The vintage bicycle image caught my eye and directed me to this handmade jewelry store. I love so many of the necklaces and the flower hair pins too.

I found the perfect light fixture for my entry way. Unfortunately when I tracked it down, I discovered it's a little out of my price range. At least I know now what I'm looking for.

Here's an easy how to make some cute, little magnets with the kids or on your own. This would make a sweet Mother's Day present for a grandma, with pictures of all of the grandkids. (This site has so many great kids' activities.)

And here's yet another cool storage option for my workspace. (And the colors are perfect!)

I followed a guest post (from The Inspired Room) over to 4 Reluctant Entertainers and found a lovely new blog to read.  This particular post that had me interested is about being real when hosting get togethers at your home. It was refreshing to read.

I'll leave you with these beautiful flowers and this nice thought:

Hope your weekend is wonderful!

Overheard At My House: Barbie

Here's the scene: Hubby is working at the Mac and our daughter is sitting next to him playing online games on the laptop. I'm in the other room with the little guy.

Little gal: Daddy, do you want to help me give Ken a hot, new look?

Hubby: No, I do not want to help you give Ken a hot, new look.

I have Polyvore. She has Barbie.com. (And hubby wants to hurl.) I guess that's fair.

On another note...

I'm a winner! I won this recycled jewelry giveaway over at Down and Out Chic. I am so very excited. I'm working on accessorizing more and now I have an uber-cool bracelet to add to my efforts, in my favorite color no less. Be sure to check out Christina's great blog and this neat new (to me) etsy shop.

Have a wonderful Thursday!!

Spending Hiatus: Tests

I made my official declaration last week: My spending hiatus is in full effect. I've done pretty good. I did have a few tests though, and I didn't quite pass all of them...  Remember how I needed new powder? I even included it on my exclusions list, where I expressed my guilt about going to the department store rather than the grocery store to refill it. I knew that the $25 Clinique version was a splurge for our current economic state, but I rationalized it. Here's the situation:

I'm standing at the cosmetic counter while the sales associate is locating my make up. (It was tough just to get to that point, as I had to walk through the shoe department to get there... The agony!) I reach in my wallet to pull out my debit card. It's not there. After sweating and searching, I deduct that it's gone. At some point that day before making my "big", unnecessary purchase, I had lost my check card. 

I felt it was a God-breeze, telling me that I needed to listen to my guilt/conscience and take my weak-spending-hiatus-self to the drugstore for some Cover Girl. Did I listen to this sign? Nope. I pulled out another form of payment and then promptly cancelled the card. 

Lesson learned? Not really. Maybe next time.

I'm moving on... 

If you're on hiatus, how'd you do?

 If you're not, what fun stuff did you buy?

(I'll just live vicariously through you for now!)

Happy Wednesday to you!

Pass It On

One of the first blogs I started reading regularly was Violet Posy. I don't even remember how I happened upon Liz's site... I'm sure it was by clicking on a blog through a blog through another and so on. However I came to be there, I keep returning because I enjoy her thoughtful perspective on life. Plus, her site is quite pretty too. She also has a daughter around the same age as my little gal and it's fun to read stories about her. (Okay, and I admit that it feels oh-so-cool that I get to visit her all the way in the UK from my desk chair.) So when she passed on a "meme" from across the pond, I definitely wanted to play along. Here goes:

Rules of the meme: Respond and rework on your own blog. Replace one question and add one question. Pass it on.

1. My current obsession... I can't get enough of this stuff:

{image via here}

2. One item from my wardrobe I wear most often... 

3. The last thing I bought... Nothing fun at all, so I'm changing this to what I wish I'd just bought... A great pair of:

cowboy boots by PS~Erin on Polyvore.com

4.  I'm listening to... A lot of Jack Johnson, Kings of Leon, and The Shins at the moment.

5. Any Pets? Why or why not... No pets for us at the moment.  We had two miniature schnauzers, but Ruthie died 6 months ago and Sherman 2 years ago. We dearly miss them as they were our first babies, but we're taking a pet break for now. It's the first time that I can remember not having a pet. I have to share their sweet little pictures though:

6. My favorite holiday spot... 

{image via here}

7. 4 words to describe me... honest, thoughtful, grounded and mom.

8. Guilty Pleasure... 

9. The best thing I've had to eat or drink lately... coffee.

10. Favorite ever film... 

11. Favorite song... I can't decide on one, but these come to mind: These Are Days by 10,000 Maniacs (reminds me of my backpacking trip in Europe... great times!), In Your Eyes by Peter Gabriel (The song I danced with my husband to at our wedding), Elton John's The Greatest Discovery (the orchestra and lyrics makes me cry every time), Chris Isaak's I Believe (I love this song and Chris is so darn cute... I can't find a you tube for it, but here's another good one of his). I could go on and on with songs I love but this is a good smattering to throw out there.

12. Favorite Flower... 

{image via here}

13. Who makes me laugh... My husband.

14. Favorite Sport... To attend: Ice Hockey. To watch: Gymnastics (I might even be able to turn a back handspring myself... maybe.)

15. First sign of spring... 

And there's that. Thanks for sticking with me! If you feel like playing, I'd love to hear some of your answers. And to make it official I'm passing it along to these very interesting ladies: A Perfect Beginning, Blog Goggles, Head Over Heals, and The Red Otter Shop. I'd love to learn more about you, but please don't at all feel obligated. 

Happy Tuesday to you!